Huntsville gazette., 1887-03-26
KEPT VERY DARK.
The Manner Of Proposing" Seldom
Comes to Light.
The Man Is Ashamed and the Woman Dis
aPpOinted-The High-Flown, the
Jocular and the Languid
Proposals.

''Have You ever noticed" said club
man the other day, show very little
one hears about proposals." Every
other circumstance connected with a
marriage is discussed with the great
est freedom; possible and probable
matches, breach-of-promise suits and
divorce cases are canvassed and talked
over in every imaginable light, but
about actual offers of marriage one
hears almost nothing. l have often
wondered why it is so, and have come
to the conclusion that men avoid the
subject, as rule, because each one is
conscious of having made rather fool
of himself on the occasion. As for
women, believe that it is the one SUBJ
ject held sacred in their condolences
with each other, A very charming
woman, who is popular not only with
our sex but her own, told me lately that
though she had received condolences
from feminine friends on every other
conceivable subject. she had never yet
been told any thing more about pro-
posal than the mere fact of its having
been made, refused or accepted. She
said, moreover, that even about these
facts women are more reticent than
about any thing else, and that be-
tween the most intimate friends the
subject of an offer which has been re-
jected is often never alluded to, al
though the facts of the case may be
tacitly understood.
Considering that nearly every human
being has had more OF less experience
in the matter of proposals, the almost
unanimous silence which is preserved
concerning them is little remarkable.
In the case of men it is probably true
that each one is conscious of not hav-
ing displayed his usual brilliancy on
the occasion in question. and therefore
prefers to consign it to oblivion, in
company with his first ball and the
times when sea-sickness has marked
him for its own. Besides, the fact is
that in real life nowadays nothing is
more uncommon than romantic pro-
posal. The occasion so much looked
forward to more often than not falls
extremely fiat and has nothing espec-
tally remarkable about it. What man
ever proposed as he intended to? or
what girl ever had her expectations
concerning the how, when and where
of the important event realized?
Certainly no one can accuse novels
of reticence on the proposal question,
and their information on the subject is
in all probability tolerably trustworthy,
since it would be unfair to assume that
nOvelists, even feminine ones, are de-
MED ordinary experience in such mat
ters. From the novelists of the first
half of this century many interesting
particulars about the romantic. other
wise known as the high-tlown, proposal
then popular can be CLEANED. In those
days the ''languishing swain" invaria-
bly proposed on his sknees-sometimes
on the right knee, sometimes on the
left knee, and sometimes on both
knees, as the particular fashion which
happened to be in vogue dictated. Git
may be imagined that the left knee re-
manned longest in favor). His attitude
was usually suggestive OF the idea
that he "had been there before, ;"
and on the previous occasion had
found tacks in the carpet. With
one hand he clutched that Of the
adored one, and with the other either
smote his breast or pressed his fevered
brow. The simplest formula allow
able was: "Lovely and beloved crea-
ture, deign to confer nnutterable bliss
on your admiring and devoted slave!
Be mine! oh, be mine!!l' The duty Of
the lovely and beloved creature was to
pestow on her slave lone languishing
glance from her dovelike eyes, and
then faint with as little delay as possi-
bic. (Thoughtfh young women al
ways choose sofa for the occasion. in
order that the climax might be reached
as gracefully as possible).
The high-fown proposal was finally
ousted from polite society by the fact
that it was appropriated by the stage.
and TINS vulgarized. The jocnlar pro-
posal then came into favor, and for a
time was quite popular and carried to
great lengths. 1t was even related that
1T the time when the tune known as
Pop Goes the Weasel was the rage a
jocu.ar wooer, while dancing TO the
said tune with the object Of his anec-
.ions, inquired Of her whether ''ste